


Love Is A Compelling Story

by Lady_Monozuki



Series: Love At KYVN TV [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternative Universe - News, Anchor Viktor Nikiforov, Anchor Yuri Plisetsky, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Attempt at Humor, Director Phichit, Drunk Dancing, Drunk Sex, Fluff, M/M, Meteorologist Mila Babicheva, Producer Katsuki Yuuri, sassy phichit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 09:59:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11033865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Monozuki/pseuds/Lady_Monozuki
Summary: AU: News Producer Yuuri never expected to get drunk, sleep with, and then fall in love with Viktor Nikiforov, the main anchor to his newscast. Yet, somehow, that's exactly what happened. Of course, their love isn't without some bumps in the road and Phichit's creative nicknames for Viktor.--“Make sure he’s in focus. We want to make sure Yuuri can see all the details of his boyfriend’s face.”“Oh my god. We’re supposed to be professional,” he muttered.“Relax, no one can hear us.”“Literally, four other people can hear us.”“Fine, I retract that statement. But Viktor “Fine Ass” Nikiforov can’t—not unless I punch him up.”





	Love Is A Compelling Story

**Author's Note:**

> This AU begged to be written. I'm not sorry at all. Hope you enjoy my attempt at humor. Kind of fluffy in some places, kind of sucky in others.
> 
> I put a bunch of stars next to a scene that deals with a panic attack.

_“Quick weather tease.”_

“Tomorrow is going to be another gorgeous day with highs in the mid-80’s. So make sure to enjoy the sunshine because a cold front is going to move in tomorrow night, plunging our temperatures and bringing the possibility of severe storms.”

 _“Thirty.”_  

“There’s a lot going on in that seven-day, Mila. Just another reminder how important it is to stay weather aware, especially this time of year.”

_“App tease.”_

“Of course, you can stay up to date if severe weather hits by downloading our family of free apps from our website at K-Y-V-N-dot-com. Our storm team will help keep you and your families safe. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

_“We’re clear.”_

Viktor turned off his mic and pulled out his earpiece. “Did we have a new producer tonight?” he asked. “That didn’t sound like anyone I’m familiar with.”

Yuri tossed him an annoyed look. “Are you serious?”

He tilted his head. “Yes. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise?”

His co-anchor snorted. “Oh man, this is rich.”

“I don’t find this very funny, Yuri.”

“We’ve had the same producer for five years, but only you wouldn’t notice that.”

Viktor had never paid much attention to the voice in his ear before. Of course he listened for the time cues, but this was the first time he noticed the soft melodious tone. He was a busy man, after all—a main anchor for many of the evening shows and a reporter whenever he could spare the time.

He was usually always busy and only interacted with his fellow on-air crew, the cameraman, the assignment desk manager and photojournalists. The only time he met the behind-the-scenes crew was at staff parties.

The Christmas one being the most recent. He had the time of his life, flirting and dancing with a drunken man that he didn’t even know the name of. Viktor hadn’t seen that person again which led him to believe that the person either worked the opposite shift or had since left the company.

His heart ached at the thought of not meeting the enchanting man again. He had fallen hard that night. Viktor had left his number with the person but never heard back. He still wasn’t over the drunken Asian man. Neither was Yuri, who was humiliated in a dance battle that night.

They were forbidden from talking about it, of course. Christophe, however, had accepted defeat more gracefully. The only thing Viktor had accepted was that he likely would never talk to the gorgeous man again.

“What’s his name?”

Yuri rolled his eyes. Off-camera Yuri was a completely different persona than on-camera Yuri. “Why don’t you go talk to him instead of bothering me?" 

Viktor placed his mic pack on the desk gently. “Good idea.” He walked out of the studio and into the newsroom. The only person there was Leo de la Iglesia, the producer for the four a.m. hour.

“Have you seen the producer for my show?” he asked Leo.

Leo gave him an odd look. “No, Yuuri left already.” 

“But Yuri was just with me in the studio?” Viktor said, confused.

“He means Yuuri Katsuki, dumbass.”

 Viktor put two and two together. “You have the same name as our producer?”

 “I don’t want to talk about it.” Yuri disappeared to the ENG section where Otabek was shutting down for the night. 

“Tell me more about Yuuri,” Viktor said to Leo.

“He’s roommates with Phichit. They’ve been best friends since college.” Everyone knew Phichit, even Viktor. He had met the enthusiastic director on several occasions. “Yuuri attended the Christmas party. I didn’t get to go, but I heard you two spent a lot of time together.”

Now that was news to Viktor. He tried to place a name and face to Yuuri Katsuki, but couldn’t. He had mostly spent time with his usual friends. The only major deviation was when he got into a dance contest with the hot Asian man. His heart beat faster. Was it possible that they were the same person?

 _Don’t get your hopes up_.

“I see. Thanks, Leo. Have a good show in the morning.”

“Thanks. Goodnight, Viktor.”

He gathered his things and left the station for the night. Viktor was already trying to form a plan on how to catch sight of Yuuri Katsuki, the mysterious ten p.m. producer he had somehow not met in five years. 

\--

 

The best thing about working the 10 p.m. show was that Yuuri didn’t have to wake up before noon if he didn’t want to. While he didn’t have to be at the station until two in order to make the afternoon meeting, he chose to get up earlier to have a decent meal or run errands.

Plus, it meant he didn’t have to go to bed until early in the morning, which he worked best for his night-owl tendencies.

Phichit, on the other hand, got up early and preferred to crash around they got home and ate dinner together. They had worked together on their college’s newscast. Yuuri preferred to write stories and Phichit liked calling the shots. They were a great team and hadn’t mentioned which stations they were applying for. 

Yuuri applied for KYVN TV for the sole reason his favorite anchor worked there. Viktor Nikiforov was an amazing TV personality and storyteller. He had earned five Emmy’s in a row for his journalism and collected his first Edward R. Murrow award last year.

They came home one day with the same news: they had been hired by KYVN TV. The station was in a top 50 market and considered to be the news leader locally. Yuuri and Phichit started on the morning shows. They got shuffled around as people quit, retired, or moved to other stations. For a while, Phichit worked an opposite schedule as him and he had grown to miss his friend’s witty humor and sarcastic comments.

Eventually, they were reunited on the 10 p.m. show together five years ago. His Executive Producer, Celestino, had placed a great amount of faith in Yuuri to put him on such an important newscast.

It also meant he got to produce a show Viktor Nikiforov anchored—a dream come true really. Not that Viktor knew who he was. In the past five years, Yuuri could count a handful of times they had actually crossed paths.

Yuuri didn’t stick around much after newscasts so he and Phichit could make the bus home. In cases of extending coverage, usually their audio person—Emil—offered them a ride.

The last time he had been in close proximity of Viktor was at the company’s Christmas party. He hadn’t wanted to go, but Phichit insisted before ditching him at the last minute.

Yuuri had been so nervous, he didn’t remember much other than drinking a lot of alcohol and waking up with the mother of all hangovers and sore muscles from what he learned was because he challenged two people to dance-offs.

That was the last time Yuuri decided to drink and so far, he had stuck to that.

\--

 

Wednesday had rolled around and they were stuck in weather coverage. Yuuri wanted nothing more than to go home, but couldn’t. The cold front had moved before his newscast, but had not lessened since he took the booth. With the humid air in the atmosphere, it created a violent series of storms that affected a widespread area.

They had sent storm chases out in different parts of the state. Even though it was dark outside, flashes of lightning lit up the sky to tell the story of what the type of weather they were experiencing. The storms were moving across the metro and Yuuri could hear the rumbles of thunder getting closer.

“Is the backup generator on?” he asked. They couldn’t lose power. Not when so many people were being affected by the storms.

“Yeah, IT took care of it. We'll be fine" 

“Okay.”

He watched the boxes on the screen, noticing one of the storm chaser’s videos had gone out. Yuuri punched one of the phone lines.

“Hey Georgi, your shot went down. Mila wants to take you soon.”

“We’re switching batteries.”

“Copy that.” He un-punched the phone line and talked to Mila. “Georgi’s down. Give him a couple.”

Two minutes later, the shot came back up. Heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and hail were all battering the windshield in front of them.

Phichit took charge. Double-box between studio and the field.

_“And let’s head over to one of our storm chasers and meteorologists near the metro, Gerogi Popovich. Georgi, what are you seeing out there?”_

_“Mila, as the storms have moved toward the metro, we’ve seen them decrease some in severity…”_

Now a double-box between the field and the radar tracking the storms. A lower-third graphic with Georgi’s name on it.

_“However, as you can see from here, this is still a very active and dangerous storm system. When we started tracking these storms earlier this evening out west, we did capture a few funnel clouds on the ground. Fortunately, they were in very rural areas. Now that the storms have reached where the main part of the heat dome is at, the threat has decreased slightly._

_“That being said, we’re still seeing nickel-sized hail and heavy rains. We know many roads are shut down due to flooding in the metro. We also know that currently about 15-thousand people are without power. The only good news is that the winds haven’t been strong enough to form rotations where we’re at. Mila, back to you.”_

_“Thank you, Georgi. While the metro is not under any current tornado watches or warnings, that’s not the case in the Eastern part of the state.”_

Mila continued her weather report. Yuuri stopped listening. They had repeated the same weather story for hours. His 10 p.m. newscast was completely shot. His only job was to kill his stories and force Mila to pitch to break.

The severe weather continued well past his newscast. He dismissed the anchors, but knew he would have to stay to help coordinate with breaks until the immediate threat was over. Once it pushed off, then they would do cut-ins on the break and go back to regularly scheduled programming.

Yuuri hoped and prayed that would happen sooner rather than later. The thunderous rain continued to hammer the building. His computer screen flashed, but they stayed on the air. 

_“We’re experiencing some power surges here at the station, that’s how powerful these storms are. It’s better to stay inside for the evening. If you don’t have anywhere to go, make sure you stay safe.”_

The desk punched him up. “We’ve got a high water rescue happening right now underneath the Extension. It’s Georgi’s stream.”

“Okay.”

He punched in Mila. “High water rescue by the Extension. Georgi’s got it now.”

_“We’re heading back out to Georgi right now. This is a high water rescue happening right now underneath the Extension. Remember, this area floods quite a bit. Whenever you can’t tell how deep water is on the roadway, it’s best to turn around and drive away. You can see fire crews are hooked to each other as they extend a ladder for the man trapped in his vehicle…”_

Yuuri heard footsteps approaching them. He looked and saw Viktor Nikiforov holding two boxes of pizza. His heart beat faster at the sight of Viktor. The man should’ve been gone by now. Twenty minutes had passed since the technical end of the newscast.

“I brought you guys food,” Viktor announced as if it wasn’t obvious. Everyone was starving of course.

“Thank you,” he said. “Set it there, we can get it later.”

“I can serve it.”

That was how Yuuri Katsuki ended up getting served two slices of pizza by his favorite anchor.

“You’re Yuuri Katsuki, right?” Viktor asked as he was handing him the food.

“Yes,” he whispered.

Yuuri desperately wished they would have this conversation in almost any other circumstance. His hair was disheveled, glasses askew. He was wearing clothes too big for him because he hadn’t gotten a chance to do laundry. Today, he was literally a wreck.

“I’m Viktor Nikiforov.”

“I know,” he said quietly.

_We’ve only been working together for five years._

“Of course you do. You’ve been my producer for five years.” Viktor, it seemed, wasn’t going to stop talking any time soon. He made a move to take Phichit off the conversation.

 _“Don’t you dare,”_ Phichit hissed in his ear. 

With the program feed from the station, Viktor didn’t hear what the director said. But it was clear as day to Yuuri. His star anchor sat in a chair next to him and was eating his own slice of pizza contently.

The desk told him of another incident. He relayed it to Mila and Phichit. They were on air with the breaking news within the next thirty seconds.

“Is there anything you want?” he asked.

“No. It just occurred to me that we haven’t gotten to know each other very well.”

Phichit snorted in his ear.

“Oh.”

That was the only answer he could come up with at that moment. Why the hell was Viktor suddenly interested in him?

\--

 

Going out in the storms was a stupid idea. He had heard all the scanner reports of closed roads, downed power lines, and snapped trees. Viktor was not about to drive in this weather. No, he would wait until they cleared out from the metro. He lived in the part that was getting hit hardest right now.

A manager came into the station holding several boxes of pizza. The top one was completely soaked and probably no longer edible.

“All right, take one to ENG, three to IT, and someone needs to take two to the control room.”

The control room. Where his producer was currently stuck. “I can take it,” he volunteered.

He gathered the boxes along with plates and napkins and headed up to a part of the station he had only visited twice before.

Viktor pretended he didn’t notice the person watching him. He knew from their position that they were the producer.

 _So you’re Yuuri_.

Yuuri, simply put, was gorgeous. He had large brown eyes, beautiful black hair. His slightly too-large clothes gave him a homey, but approachable look. Even the man’s glasses suited him.

Viktor wasn’t sure how to approach such a beautiful man. His mind instantly went back to the Christmas party. He smiled. He had found the person he had been looking for all this time.

He was not going to waste this opportunity. Viktor served pizza to audio, graphics, and the director first. Then, he got his own plate along with one for Yuuri. He sat in the chair next to the producer who appeared to be blushing in the low light.

Viktor took in all of what was going on behind the scenes. It was strange to see what actually went into pulling off an on-air production. But he couldn’t help but be fascinated by it.

Probably because the gorgeous man next to him also found it interesting.

“So this is what it takes to make it all work,” he said.

“For the most part. There’s ENG downstairs too.”

Viktor was very familiar with that department, mostly thanks to Yuri.

“I’ve never spent much time up here. It’s different than I imagined.”

He waited for Yuuri to reply, but the man didn’t answer. Viktor gave him a side-glance and noticed the other was listening intently.

The man pressed a button. “Hey Otabek, Mila wants the high water rescue video ASAP.” 

The answer came over in the booth.

 _“Cutting it now_.”

Yuuri turned toward him. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

He shook his head. “Nothing important. You’re quite busy, aren’t you?”

The other man merely nodded. “This is actually the tamest it’s been for severe weather. Usually there are four people screaming in my ear.”

“How many are screaming right now?”

“Just Mila,” Yuuri said with a small smile.

Viktor laughed. Of course she would. Mila was a damn good meteorologist. Heaven help anyone who doesn’t give her exactly what she wants.

 _“Video’s ready.”_  

“It’s ready.”

Viktor stayed until the severe weather in the metro was over. Yuuri took off his headset and unplugged it while shutting down the computer in the control room.

“I’ll see you later, Yuuri.”

“Goodnight, Phichit.”

Viktor frowned and he followed Yuuri out of the room. “Don’t you two live together?”

“Yeah,” came the answer. “He has to stay to do cut-ins.”

“Oh. How long?”

“However long it takes. If he’s unlucky, not until the morning director gets in.”

“That sucks,” Viktor said.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Yuuri had gone down to his desk and gathered his things. Viktor did the same thing. He noticed the producer groan after checking his phone.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” came the answer. Yuuri sat down at his desk, putting his stuff down again.

“It’s not nothing,” Viktor observed.

“We took the bus here,” Yuuri said quietly.

Viktor connected the dots. “They don’t run this late.”

“No.”

It took him all of two seconds to decide this was unacceptable. “I’ll drive you home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Yuuri said.

“What are you going to do otherwise?”

The other man took in a deep breath. “Wait until Emil gets done. He’ll drive me and Phichit home.”

“That could be hours from now. You need to go home and get some rest.”

\--

 

Yuuri couldn’t argue with the man’s logic. Of course he needed to go home and get some rest. However, he didn’t feel comfortable taking a ride from Viktor Nikiforov. They barely knew each other.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Yuuri, I insist.”

He opened his mouth to protest again, but Viktor gave him a pleading look. Damn, why did he have to be so attractive?

“Fine,” Yuuri answered. He saw the man’s face instantly light up. A heart-shaped smile stretched wide.

“Great, let’s go.”

He gathered his items and followed Viktor out to the parking lot.

Viktor’s car was instantly recognizable. A pink Cadillac. Yuuri had seen it many times. Now he was going to ride in it.

Yuuri got into the vehicle. It was still lightly raining, but nowhere near the amount as earlier. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Phichit.

_Sent: You’ll never guess what I’m doing._

“What’s your address?” Viktor asked.

“Oh. I live at the Highlands Apartments.”

Viktor punched in the name and it pulled up an address. The GPS kindly informed them that it was starting its route. Yuuri had never felt more anxious about a simple car ride than now.

_Received: What’s happening?_

_Sent: Viktor’s driving me home._

_Received: Let me know if I need to prepare lunch for three._

_Sent: Phichit!_

_Received: You’re with Viktor. Say it with me, Viiiiikkkktttooor._

_Sent: You’re ridiculous._

_Received: Just trying to make sure you say the right name when you’re in bed._

_Sent: That’s not how it’s going to end up!_

That’s exactly how it ended up though.

 --

 

Viktor gathered that Yuuri was very reserved and quiet. The other man was texting on his phone, getting redder with each new message. Finally, the man gave up and put his phone away.

“So Yuuri, what’s your family like?” he treaded carefully. Hopefully, the conversation would flow easier now that they didn’t have severe weather to distract them.

“Normal, I guess. They live in Japan still.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re from?” 

“Yeah. They live in a small town and own a hot spring resort. I moved to America for college and haven’t had time to go back since.”

“Why not?”

Yuuri sighed. “Just never enough time.”

He nodded. “I see.”

“You’re not from here either. What about your family?”

Viktor really felt at a disadvantage when it came to Yuuri. There was no shortage of information regarding him public on the internet. However, there was barely anything on the man who had managed to capture his attention.

“I don’t really know,” Viktor answered honestly. “I was passed around from home to home. At 16, I ran away and came to America to start over. I haven’t really wanted to go back.”

“You’re not curious about what happened to your family?”

Viktor thought for a moment. “Not really. It’s not an important part of my life.”

“That’s not true,” Yuuri said quietly. “Even if you don’t like a part of your past, it still makes up a part of who you are today.” His eyes widened. “Sorry.”

He smiled. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I didn’t mean to be so blunt.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re cute.” Yuuri blushed at his words. “It is part of me, but I don’t want that part to be what people focus on.”

Yuuri bit his lip. “What do you want people to focus on?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want people to know you for your awards? Professionalism? Personality? It must be exhausting to keep up that sort of expectation all the time,” Yuuri said quietly.

Viktor thought for a moment. “I love telling stories about how people overcome adversity. You get to see who they really are underneath everything. It’s why I got into journalism in the first place. But everyone wants hard news these days. If it bleeds, it leads seems to be all everyone cares about. I wish I could share the real me with others.”

They arrived at Yuuri’s apartments too soon for his liking. Viktor followed the instructions to find the correct apartment building. He parked the car in a free space. 

Yuuri took in a deep breath and unbuckled his seatbelt. “You know, Viktor.”

“Yes?”

“You could share the real you with me.”

He glanced at the other man, who was shyly tugging at his clothes.

“Thank you, Yuuri. I appreciate the offer.”

“You’re welcome. Everyone needs a place where they get to be themselves. You shouldn’t have to constantly keep that hidden otherwise you might forget who you really are.”

Viktor might have already forgotten. He had been a public figure for so long, he wasn’t sure how to just be Viktor.

“Thanks for the ride, Viktor.”

“You’re welcome.”

Yuuri got out of the vehicle and closed the door behind him. He watched as the other man walked three doors down and disappeared from his sight. Viktor sighed.

He was hopelessly in love with Yuuri Katsuki. Sober Yuuri was kind and thoughtful. Drunk Yuuri was fun and wild. Both were sexy as hell.

Viktor could barely believe they were the same person. Yet, somehow he did. He went to turn on the engine again. Only this time, the car wouldn’t start.

He tried it a few times, frustrated. Viktor thought about whether the car had made any strange noises before this. Then, it dawned on him. He had forgotten to put gas in the car while driving to work.

Since he didn’t live far from the station, he intended to get some on his way back. However, he had given Yuuri a ride. The trip had taken him thirty minutes out his way and apparently drained the rest of his tank.

Viktor could have called for a ride, but he suddenly had a better idea.

\--

 

Yuuri had barely made it up the stairs before he heard a knock at his door. He frowned. Phichit wouldn’t be back so soon. Cautiously, he went down and looked through the peephole. Viktor was in front of his door.

Did he forget something?

He opened it. “Viktor,” he said. “Is everything all right?”

The anchor chuckled a little. “It seems not. I forgot to fill my tank and everyone who could help me didn’t answer. I was wondering if I could stay here?”

Yuuri stepped aside to let the other person in without question. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“For what?”

“You ran out of gas because of me.”

Viktor let out a small laugh. Though Yuuri had heard it throughout the night, it was still the most beautiful sound ever. He desperately tried not to stare at Viktor’s ass as they trudged up the stairs. 

“I ran out because I didn’t refill it sooner. I knew I was practically driving on empty. It’s my fault.”

“Still, you drove me home.”

Viktor turned around at the top of the stairs, startling him. He put a hand on the rail to steady himself.

“My reward for that is getting to stay with you.” The other man winked. Yuuri felt his heart clench. Oh god, how was he going to make it through the night knowing Viktor Nikiforov was in his home?

“Do you want something to eat?” he breathed out, willing his heart to stop beating so fast.

“I’m good. But I wouldn’t mind something to drink.”

Viktor had moved away from the top of the stairs and Yuuri went straight toward the kitchen.

“Anything in particular? We’ve got water, milk, or alcohol if you prefer.”

“What type of alcohol do you have?”

“All kinds. We sort of keep everything in stock. Some days are more stressful than others.”

Viktor nodded and looked at the selection before him. “Just some vodka, please.”

Yuuri began pouring some in a glass. “Let me know when.” When it was half-full, Viktor told him to stop. Yuuri debated whether he wanted to drink himself. The memories of the day came pounding back. Yes, it was that kind of day. 

He didn’t want too much, just enough to take off the edge. He settled for a mixed drink. Yuuri went out to the living room and sat on the couch to turn on the TV and watch Netflix.

Viktor stood awkwardly in the room. He forgot he was supposed to play host. “Um, sit anywhere you’d like. I’m just going to put on a TV show.”

“Okay.” Viktor sat right next to him. His body temperature rose just being near the man. Yuuri started downing his drink to keep himself distracted.

He threw in a random show, knowing that he wasn’t going to pay attention to it anyway. Not with Viktor Nikiforov sitting next to him on the couch. Being in proximity to the gorgeous man sent his brain on the fritz. He was very aware of every movement, every sip, and every change of expression of the man.

One drink was not enough. Neither was two.

Viktor also asked for multiple drinks. It didn’t take long for a pleasant buzz to build. His inhibitions lowered. Drunk Yuuri was beginning to make an appearance.

 --

 

Viktor had never been in such close proximity of a more beautiful man. Yuuri had seduced him with just his mere existence. His usual amount of alcohol would not be enough to distract him from every small movement, every breath, every detail of the man next to him.

He did his best not to ogle, but that got harder to do as more alcohol flowed in his system. Viktor wanted to have more of a conversation, but the other man seemed so nervous. He didn’t want to press. 

But by the fifth drink, the other man had relaxed. So had he, but still waited for the other to make the first move. He was the guest. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait much longer. When Yuuri returned with his sixth drink, their touch lasted longer than before. Both their breaths hitched.

Viktor could feel his body react instantly to the touch. Memories of the Christmas party came to his find. His body craved Yuuri. He was certain the other felt the same way.

“Dance with me, Viktor.”

It was a demand, not a request. One that Viktor was happy to fulfill. Yuuri took him into his arms and led him in a dance around the living room. No music was actually playing, but they could hear a song anyway. His heart fluttered at every movement against his body. Every breath against his skin.

_I’m falling in love._

“Viktor,” Yuuri breathed. “You make my body feel warm.”

He chuckled. “You make mine feel warm too.”

“You’re so beautiful.”

“As are you, Yuuri.”

The other shook his head. “Not compared to you.”

“Shall I show you?” he said seductively. His words had an immediate effect. A shiver running down Yuuri’s body.

“Yes,” the other breathed.

He didn’t need to be told twice. He leaned forward and kissed the other man. A moan escaped from the other. He needed to hear more of the wonderful sound. They continued. His body heating up more with each delicious moan.

Viktor needed to feel more, needed to explore more. He continued to kiss while his hands moved down Yuuri’s body. There were too many clothes, not enough skin.

Viktor broke away. “Can I take off your shirt?”

Yuuri stopped for a moment before nodding. The shirt came off. He eyed the form of the beautiful man in front of him. His favorite part was the soft stomach the other person had.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said before kissing Yuuri again.

The rest of the night was filled with bliss. He would forever remember Yuuri’s touch against his skin, Yuuri’s moans, Yuuri crying out his name when he climaxed in pure pleasure.

_Yuuri, can I be part of your story forever?_

\--

 

By the time Yuuri woke up, Viktor was gone. A note scrawled to him from the other person included the man’s number and an explanation that someone had come to get him.

He blushed furiously at the memories of what happened last night. How was he going to face Viktor ever again? Yuuri didn’t want to forget last night, but they were both drunk. Their sober selves were on completely different levels.

 _Good job, Yuuri. You just had to fall in love with one person who will never return your feelings sober._  

He got out of bed and took a shower, reliving each moment in his mind. His body reacted instantly to the thought of Viktor kissing him, touching him, being inside him.

It was forever burned in his mind. He relieved himself in the shower. They would likely never have another encounter like that again. Viktor was gorgeous and Yuuri was everything but.

Yet here he was, stupidly in love. He had been ignoring his crush all this time, but the close proximity and memory of last night. Yuuri typed in Viktor’s number and sent a simple text.

_Sent: Hi. It’s Yuuri._

He walked out of his bedroom, phone in hand. Phichcit was up, making lunch for the two of them.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Yuuri groaned. He was not in the mood to deal with Phichit’s teasing today.

“Morning,” he mumbled. Even though they both knew it was technically considered afternoon, this was technically their start to the day.

His roommate put a plate of food in front of him before taking a seat across from him. “So,” Phichit began. “Did you remember to moan the right name last night?”

Yuuri choked. “Phichit!”

“What? I saw him as he was leaving your room. What am I supposed to think?”

“Oh my god, can we not talk about this right now?”

“Sure,” Phichit agreed. “But after we’re done with lunch, I expect all the details. I know Drunk Yuuri was involved.”

He slumped in his chair. “How do you know?”

“There was a lot of alcohol missing. Divided between the two of you, I have a guess as to how many you had.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Come on, stories featuring Drunk Yuuri are so much more interesting. Besides, Drunk Yuuri got to sleep with Viktor Nikiforov—something Sober Yuuri should be pretty happy with.”

Yes, he was happy with that outcome, but he wasn’t going to tell Phichit that.

 Yuuri’s phone buzzed.

_Received: Hi Yuuri! I’m glad to hear from you. Sorry I had to leave early this morning. If given the choice, I would’ve stayed in bed with you all morning. You look absolutely adorable when you sleep, especially with my hickeys adorning your neck._

Yuuri brought a hand to his neck, blushing furiously.

“Phichit, do you have anything high-collared?”

“Of course, but why would you want to cover Viktor’s marks? I’m sure he’d love for you to show them off.”

“Phichit!”

\--

 

Viktor sighed happily. He wasn’t sure if Yuuri would actually text him, but it seemed he had nothing to fear. Waking up with Yuuri in his arms had been a dream come true. Oh, he would’ve given everything to stay there.

Alas, Yuri had kindly brought him gas to fill his tank and demanded he be paid back for it in the form of breakfast for, quote, “having to get up so early that even the roosters weren’t awake.”

He was certain that was not the case, but Viktor wasn’t going to argue with his very angry and easily irritable coworker. Not until after breakfast at least.

“You’ve got that stupid look on your face.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What stupid look?”

“The one that says you’re falling in love.”

“I don’t think I’m falling,” he answered.

“Ugh, gross.” Yuri took a couple bites of food. Viktor toyed with his, thinking about how much better it would be if it was Yuuri sitting across the table. “Who’s it this time?”

“Yuuri.”

“I’m not interested.”

Viktor blinked. It took him a second to realize the misunderstanding. “Ah no, not you. Yuuri Katsuki.”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Great. So not only are you in love with our producer, you’re also in love with someone with the same name as me.”

He hummed quietly. “I know. From now on, you’ll be Yurio!” 

“Huh? Why do I have to change my name? I’m a public figure. He’s a nobody.”

Viktor shot a glare at his younger co-anchor.

“He’s not nobody, Yurio.”

_He’s going to be the most important part of my story._

\--

 

The next newscast reached a new level of awkward for Yuuri. He was used to Phichit teasing him for his crush before this. Actually, everyone behind the scenes knew about his not-so-subtle infatuation with Viktor. However, this newscast made everything more uncomfortable for him.

Everyone else enjoyed it.

“Coming up on a tight shot of Yuuri’s hot new boyfriend.”

“Phichit!”

“Make sure he’s in focus. We want to make sure Yuuri can see all the details of his boyfriend’s face.”

“Oh my god. We’re supposed to be professional,” he muttered.

“Relax, no one can hear us.”

“Literally, four other people can hear us.” 

“Fine, I retract that statement. But Viktor “Fine Ass” Nikiforov can’t—not unless I punch him up.”

“Which I’m afraid you’ll “accidentally” do just that. I don’t want a repeat of the May 13th incident.”

May 13th, the day he and Mila butted heads more than usual. While Yuuri was ranting about how he was doing everything he could to appease their head meteorologist, Phichit had “accidentally” punched her in on their conversation. Afterwards, they had argued a little more before both apologizing.

They had a mutual respect for each other, but she was an absolute witch to deal with if she didn’t have things done on her schedule right away. He had literally done everything he could and was relying on everything to be put together so he could get it in for the show.

Things were tense during the newscast, but dissipated when they both gave detailed explanations from their perspectives. It was easy to get caught up in the moment, especially in high stress situations. Yuuri always worked to accommodate her. She knew that he had her back.

It was just difficult to always feel it.

“I did you a favor,” Phichit said.

“How so?” he asked.

“You’re Mila’s favorite producer because of that incident. She didn’t think you had it in you to stand up for yourself. You proved her wrong and earned her respect.”

“She likes me because I talked back to her?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I don’t get it either. Agreeable Yuuri is much better. I’m sure Viktor “Sweet Cheeks” Nikiforov can attest to that.”

Yuuri groaned. “Phichit!”

\--

 

Viktor hummed contentedly as Yuuri snuggled deeper into his arms. He was half-paying attention to the move, but mostly adoring the way the other fit perfectly with his body. He was afraid that at any moment, he would wake up from the dream and he would go back to his dull world before he had met Yuuri.

That hadn’t happened so far.

The first couple of weeks after their first night together, Viktor had focused all of his spare time with Yuuri. He had started sending the other flowers at works. While he never signed the cards, he made sure Yuuri knew they were from him.

Their coworkers were actively trying to figure out who was sending Yuuri such lavish gifts. Yurio gagged every time Yuuri’s mysterious suitor was brought up, but didn’t out him as the one who was desperately trying to court the other man.

Viktor also started driving both Yuuri and Phichit home every night. He cited the fact that public transportation wasn’t safe at that time of day.

Yuuri had tried to refuse, but Phichit was glad to accept. Which, ultimately, meant that Yuuri accepted his offer to take them home. Having Phichit as an ally, Viktor decided, was a powerful tool.

Together, they could convince Yuuri to do almost anything.

Of course, it also meant that he had an open invitation to visit their apartment on the nights he didn’t stay over. They hadn’t had sex since that first night together, but they frequently fell asleep on the couch together while watching a movie or a heavy make out session.

There was something holding Yuuri back from giving himself completely to Viktor again. He didn’t mind. They had been drunk the first time and skipped over the usual steps an intimate relationship follow.

He didn’t need to have sex to know that he was in love with Yuuri Katsuki. That he wanted to be by that man’s side for as long as possible.

 _Forever, if he’ll have me_.

\--

 *********

Yuuri never meant for Viktor see him have a panic attack. Yet, here he was, curled up in a ball on the floor of his bedroom, unable to breathe or make sense of everything around them. Their day together had been absolutely wonderful, perfect even.

Until the end.

They had spent the day outdoors, walking Makkachin in the park. They rarely went out in public because Viktor was easily recognizable and he didn’t care for people gawking at them wherever they went. It was supposed to be a carefree day, one where they could relax and forget all about what a nightmare the week at work had been.

Except now, he couldn’t.

Yuuri’s anxiety was at an all-time high because of how much breaking news had happened. Every day, he was throwing in at least two brand new stories. All of them going on right before their newscast was set to air. Some of them even taking place during their show.

He needed a relaxing weekend and thought the day had been perfect.

Until he got home and absent-mindedly scrolled through social media, noticing that Viktor was trending on several of the sights. He decided to click on a couple of them and noticed that someone had taken a picture of them together at the park. They were slamming his appearance.

How he didn’t compare to Viktor’s beauty. How he wasn’t deserving of someone like Viktor. How he was probably just trying to take advantage of Viktor.

The comments went on and on.

His anxiety replayed the worst ones over and over until he finally broke down. After all, Yuuri Katsuki was nothing compared to Viktor Nikiforov.

Would never be anything important to Viktor.

\--

 

Viktor had never seen such raw emotion on the face of someone he cared about. It hurt to look at. His heart ached. He knew Yuuri had been dealing with a bad week, but thought it was just because of work and would get better once they made it to the weekend.

It’s why he offered to take Yuuri out on a date with his poodle. After all, time spent with dogs were the best of times. Plus, it was time to introduce Makkachin to someone Viktor hoped would become a permanent part of his life. 

He had been delighted his pooch had taken to Yuuri so well. Yuuri had even commented how he had a toy poodle several years ago. If Viktor Nikiforov wasn’t convinced this was the man he was destined to spend the rest of his life with before, he certainly was now.

However, somewhere between the transition of their date and spending time in Yuuri’s apartment, things had taken a turn for the worst. Yuuri had gone to the bedroom to grab them a blanket so they could snuggle on the couch. He had waited twenty minutes before deciding to go check on the other man. 

Viktor had found Yuuri curled up on the floor, having a hard time breathing and crying.

“Yuuri,” he said softly. “You’re okay. Everything’s fine.”

The other man tried to take in a deep breath.

“Is there medicine you usually take?” Yuuri nodded. “Can you point in the direction it is?”

Yuuri lifted a shaky arm toward the bathroom.

“Can I go get it? Will you be okay?”

Yuuri nodded again.

He walked out of the room and went to the bathroom and found the medication. Given there was only one prescription with Yuuri’s name on it, he felt confident that this was the right one.

He filled a glass of water and came back to the room, coming in slowly. Viktor announced his presence as well.

“I’m going to approach you now. I’ve got your medicine.”

He knelt in a good distance away from Yuuri’s form and stretched out his arms with the medication and water. Both were taken from his hands soon after. He watched Yuuri swallow his medication and then wait for a few minutes.

It seemed like the other could breathe a little better.

“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked. “I want to do anything that will help make you feel safe.”

“Wrap me in a blanket,” Yuuri said shakily. Viktor grabbed one off the bed and wrapped it around the other.

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Better. Medicine’s working.” 

“Can you take a few deep breaths with me?”

Yuuri nodded and they breathed together.

“Good,” Viktor said with a smile. “How are you feeling now?” 

“I’m okay,” Yuuri mumbled. 

“Do you want to cuddle on your bed or on the couch?”

“Bed.”

He picked Yuuri up and placed him gently on the bed, taking the smaller man into his arms and whispering reassurances into the other’s ear.

**********

\--

 

Viktor had never met someone as strong as Yuuri Katsuki. After a couple more breakdowns, Yuuri finally told him about his anxiety disorder. It fluctuated at best. Crippled him at worse.

Viktor was in awe of the strength Yuuri possessed. He didn’t know how to fight his own demons so bravely each and every day. Yet, somehow, Yuuri did just that.

He also learned how to identify when Yuuri’s anxiety was speaking. It took a while of both of them getting hurt, having frustrating arguments, and trying so hard to find a way to communicate to each other.

The first breakthrough came when they were spending time together, watching the sunrise over a lake. They had been fighting all week and went away for the weekend.

Yuuri finally opened up and told him how he hated others seeing him as weak. Viktor was quick to reassure him that he saw Yuuri in a different light. This was the first step. He pushed a little more

“What do you want me to be to you?” Viktor had asked.

“I just want you to be Viktor.”

 He smiled. “Okay. As long as you be yourself too.”

\--

 

Yuuri Katsuki—Viktor Nikiforov’s boyfriend. He liked the sound of that. Ever since their weekend away, they made it official. When they told Phichit, he had rolled his eyes and argued that they had been dating ever since the night they slept together.

Yuuri was quick to insist that they hadn’t, Phichit remained disbelieving.

“I thought you were going to come back from the trip engaged, not to tell me something that I already knew.”

“Just because we slept together that night, doesn’t automatically make us boyfriends.”

“Fine, fine. You’re just doing things awfully slow—“

“And backwards,” Emil chimed in.

“For you two to only just now officially calling yourselves boyfriends.”

“Why do we always end up talking about my love life?” he asked.

“Because one of your main anchors is Viktor “I’ve Been Yuuri’s Boyfriend For Six Months And Yuuri Didn’t Know It” Nikiforov.”

\--

 

Unfortunately, as it is with their business, Viktor got extremely busy. Viktor was shooting and editing stories every single day while anchoring all the evening newscasts. 

By the time the 10 p.m. show came around, he was exhausted, drained, and barely had time to take care of himself, let alone think about Yuuri. He had texted both Yuuri and Phichit that he wouldn’t be able to drive them home for the next week at least.

They understood. One week turned into two. Two was very quickly turning into three. His weekends were spent at various public events, meeting fans and signing autographs. 

Yuuri had texted him every day at first, then less frequently. Viktor couldn’t ever text him more than a simple message.

_Received: Hey Viktor, I hope you made it home safely. Let me know you’re okay. I miss you._

_Sent: Can’t talk now. Busy._

Every time he pulled out his phone to send a longer message, to reassure the other was all right, something breaking would happen and his thoughts to send Yuuri a text message went away. Viktor Nikiforov was a professional after all.

But he was still human and humans mess up.

\--

 

Yuuri leaned over the toilet, throwing up whatever was in his stomach. He had sworn before to never drink himself to this point again. Obviously, he had broken that promise. It was Friday, now three weeks since Viktor had stopped driving them.

Almost two since he had been able to properly have a brief conversation with the other man. Yuuri was miserable. And not just because he had drank in excess. No matter what he did, the pain of not being able to talk to Viktor hurt more than he could explain.

No matter what he did, it never fully went away. Phichit walked in the bathroom.

“You’re lucky it’s Friday. Though you’re shitfaced earlier than usual,” his roommate commented. It was true, they had been home all of an hour and he was already hurling his guts out. Today had hurt more than usual. He had attempted to talk to Viktor after the newscast, but was brushed off.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

“Yuuri, you have to talk about it though.”

He felt tears build up in his eyes. “Phichit,” he sobbed. “I thought he liked me. I thought he really liked me.” 

His roommate was rubbing small circles on his back while he leaned over the toilet. “He does like you, Yuuri.”

“Then why? He’s always texting me he can’t talk, that he’s busy. He ignored me today. I thought he was different. I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together.”

It took another 20 minutes for Yuuri to feel his stomach start to settle. Phichit helped him get ready for bed, tucking him in, and leaving aspirin and water for him to take in the morning.

\--

 

Viktor was on his way to his latest public appearance. He had just parked his car when he was confronted by an angry Phichit.

“You bastard,” the other spat out.

Viktor panicked. He had never heard the other curse before. This was entirely new territory for him. “Phichit, what are you doing here?”

“I only allowed you to get close to Yuuri because I didn’t think you would hurt him. He spent all night drinking, crying, and puking his guts out because of you.”

He was alarmed. “What?”

“Yeah. He’s convinced that you don’t want him anymore. That you never loved him.”

He swallowed. Yuuri really thought all that? “None of that is true.”

“I know it’s not!” Phichit shouted back. Viktor blinked, really confused now. “But you can’t basically ignore him not to jump to that sort of conclusion. It’s really hard for him to open up to someone, let alone _love_ someone else. You’ve seen him at his best and at his worst. His anxiety is going haywire because he _trusted_ you to never be the one to hurt him.”

Viktor thought for a moment. “I never wanted to be the one to hurt him either. I thought he understood that my schedule can be a little chaotic.”

“Chaotic schedule or not, Yuuri deserves a little more than “can’t talk now” from his boyfriend. I thought you were better than that, Nikiforov.”

Phichit stomped away, leaving him completely distracted and unable to be his usual charming self during the public appearance.

_I hope I can fix this before it’s too late._

\--

 

When Yuuri woke up from sleeping he saw that he had two dozen missed calls and just as many unread text messages from Viktor. He winced at the sight of the name and ignored his phone in favor of taking aspirin and drinking lots of water. Once he was more sober, he scrolled through the messages.

_Received: Yuuri, I’m sorry. I messed up!_

_Received: Yuuri, I didn’t mean to ignore you completely._

_Received: Yuuri, please talk to me. My life sucks without you in it._

_Received: Yuuri, Phichit is really scary when he’s angry. I don’t like it when he’s mad at me. I especially don’t like to think that you’re mad at me either. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were. I treated you horribly._

_Received: I’m not trying to make excuses for my behavior. It was wrong for me to ignore you for so long. I wanted nothing more than to be in your arms._

_Received: Please talk to me again. Even if you don’t want me to be your boyfriend anymore, can we at least be friends?_

_Received: Yuuri, I love you._

He swallowed hard at the last message. Tears stung his eyes. Stupid Viktor Nikiforov. Yuuri hated that he loved that man too.

But the way things were wasn’t the way things could be.

His phone started ringing. He answered it, knowing who it was.

“Hello,” he said shakily.

_“Yuuri!” Viktor said on the line. Relief tinting the other’s voice. “Thank god I got ahold of you. I’m so sorry.”_

“Viktor, I don’t want an apology.”

_“Oh,” the other’s voice dropped in disappointment._

“I want a promise.”

_“Anything.”_

“I want you to promise me that you’ll never, ever do anything like this again.”

_“I promise I will never ignore you again, Yuuri. I promise that you will come first compared to everything else in my life. I promise to spend the rest of my life proving that to you.”_

He sucked in a deep breath. “I’m putting a lot of faith in you.”

 _“I know. I won’t let you down again."_

“I love you,” he said.

_“I love you too.”_

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

_“Yes, we’ll go out on a date. I’ll arrange everything. Tomorrow night around eight?”_

“Fine.” 

He hung up the phone and sighed. Yuuri hoped that this wouldn’t backfire and hurt him again. He couldn’t go through that pain.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Phichit asked.

“We just made up!”

“After what could’ve easily been the end of your relationship. If that’s not a sign it’s going to last, I don’t know what is.”

“I don’t know, maybe an engagement ring,” Yuuri commented sarcastically.

\--

 

Viktor and Yuuri had spent their time reconnecting and spending every moment they possibly could together. Viktor wanted Yuuri to move in one week after their fight so they would no longer be separated. 

However, he argued it was too soon, especially after such a big downward turn in their relationship. True to his word though, Viktor had done everything he possibly could to make time for Yuuri. He relished being in almost-constant contact with his boyfriend again.

Two months after their big fight, Viktor had taken him out to a fancy restaurant. Yuuri felt uncomfortable and out of place. Viktor was nervous and seemed perplexed by something.

They both didn’t say much after dinner was over, instead walking around when they came along a beautiful church. Viktor and him walked inside, enjoying the scenery.

“It’s so beautiful,” he commented.

“Not as beautiful as you,” Viktor countered. He watched Viktor twitch nervously. 

“Viktor, what’s wrong?”

“I have something to ask you, but I’m afraid.” 

“Afraid of what, Viktor?”

The other swallowed. “I’ve known for a long time now that I’ve wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re my other half, my soul mate. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find someone who accepts me for who I am and who loves me in spite of everything. Yet, I stand here today in front of you, Yuuri Katsuki, knowing that I’ve found that person. Yuuri, will you marry me?”

Viktor had produced a gold band from his pocket.

His breath caught in his throat. “Oh Viktor,” he breathed. “Yes.”

Viktor slipped the ring on his finger and pulled him in for a kiss. They broke apart with a smile before heading back to Yuuri’s apartment to tell Phichit the good news.

\--

When they walked through the door and announced their engagement, this was not the reaction Yuuri expected.

“About time you gave him the ring, Nikiforov.”

“Wait, you knew?”

Phichit rolled his eyes. “Of course I knew. I helped him pick out the ring, Yuuri.”

\--

 

When they got back to the studio on Monday, it was business as usual.

“We need an OTS for Viktor “I Finally Put A Ring On It” Nikiforov.”

“Oh my god, Phichit.”

“Little more to the right. We need to make sure Yuuri can see all of Viktor’s face so he can drool over his hot fiancé.

“I don’t drool over him!”

_Not here at least._

“Whatever you say, Yuuri.”

“So when’s the wedding?” Emil asked casually.

“We haven’t set the date yet.”

“It’ll be soon,” Phichit answered.

“And how do you know that, Phichit?” he asked.

“Because, I’m looking at the face of Viktor “I Can’t Wait to Marry the Love of My Life” Katsuki-Nikiforov.”

Katsuki-Nikiforov. 

Yuuri really liked the sound of that.


End file.
